King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Franco Franchi

Italian actor and comedian (1928-1992)

Born
18 September 1928, Palermo
Died
9 December 1992
Citizenship
Italy, Kingdom of Italy
Occupation
actor, comedian, singer, circus performer, stage actor
Films here
2

Francesco Benenato (18 September 1928 – 9 December 1992), known as Franco Franchi, was an Italian actor, comedian and singer.

He was born in Palermo, Sicily and began his career in the 1950s, although his career only really took off in the 1960s. He starred in many comedies, mainly appearing together with Ciccio Ingrassia as the comedy duo Franco and Ciccio, but also in more dramatic material such as Luigi Comencini's The Adventures of Pinocchio (1972, TV miniseries also edited into a theatrical film) – where he played the role of the Cat opposite Ingrassia as the Fox.

In the film War Italian Style (1966), the pair worked with Buster Keaton in one of his last roles.

Filmography (martial arts films)

Frequent collaborators

External links

Facts from Wikidata Q555490 (CC0); quoted introduction from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.

Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.